I'm going to Europe!

Hello everyone!

So, once again, I'm going on a crazy adventure, but this time it's not to the Middle East, Africa, or South America; I'm going to Europe! I've been to Europe a few times before, the most recent and extensive trip I took was after senior year of high school. Three friends and I backpacked through Europe, armed with strict budgets, a few articles of clothing, and an scheduled itinerary complete with hostels, hotels, and train schedules. This trip was, to date, one of my favorite experiences of my life. We started in Amsterdam in the Netherlands, and continued on to Paris in France, San Sebastian in Spain, Zurich in Switzerland, Munich, Germany, Venice, Florence, Cinque Terre, and Rome in Italy, and finally ended in London in the United Kingdom. It was an amazing experience that I'll never forget.

For those of you who haven't heard yet, I'm going back, but this time to Prague, Czech Republic. In my four years at Fordham, I've become very involved in many clubs, but most notably AIESEC. I was introduced to AIESEC my sophomore year. It is the worlds largest student run organization, that works to promote international awareness through cultural exchanges, mostly in the form of internships. AIESEC is present in over 107 countries, and over 1,100 universities. I started AIESEC at Fordham (with the help of my friend Patricia). Now that I'm graduating and my full time job doesn't start until October, I've decided to go on an AIESEC internship to keep me occupied this summer. I figured I have nothing to lose, right?

AIESEC has many times of internships on the database, some are paid positions to teach English, work for a large international corporation or for a small local business. Some are unpaid developmental internships working with NGOs and non-profits helping with local domestic issues in the given country. But for me, I wanted something not business (I'm going to be working for a long time in the financial industry, I don't need to start early!) but also not dealing with little kids (as some English teaching positions are). I finally found the My Better Myself program, or MBM for short.

My Better Myself is an English program that helps high school students learn soft skills such as managing groups, leading teams, presenting, communicating, and working in groups. The program consists of ten international leaders who help facilitate the two camps. Each camp is two weeks long with 40 high school students in each camp. I'm one of the international leaders. The others are from Portugal (Lisbon), Brazil (Salvador), India (living in Singapore), Taiwan (living in USA), China (Hangzhou--I visited there remember?), Kazakhstan (Almaty), and Turkey (Izmir).

So here are the details, I'm going to be working for the next few weeks to further develop this program. MBM hasn't been established in the Czech Republic, and this is the inagural year for the summer camps. In order to make this the best it can be, I've been selected as an Agenda Manager with a facilitator from Kazakhstan. I'm going to have to get out to Prague a little early, so I'm leaving June 7th, although the facilitator/leader training doesn't begin until June 14th. Here's the tentative schedule:

• June 14-25: Training/preparation for the camp.
• June 28: Depart for camp (2 hours outside of Prague)
  
• July 1-13: First two week camp
• July 19-31: Second two week camp

I'm so excited to go. I have so many expectations about this program, the people and the experience. I'll let you know more of what I plan to do and, more importantly, where I plan to go later! Other than that...

I'm going to Europe!

Conclusion

Well, I've had about two weeks in the United States to sit back and reflect on all my adventures that have occurred over the past 6 months. I sure am glad to be back in the United States, that's for sure. I didn't even realize how much I missed being around everything familiar. The English signs, the simple communication, and all the foods and tastes I've grown up with are something I always took for granted. Besides the fact that I'm still not craving Chinese food, one thing that actually surprised me was the fact that I'm just not ready to go back to China right now. If I was leaving tomorrow back to Beijing, I would probably be excited and happy, but right now I need more time in the US, more time at home, and more time with my friends and family. For everything that I did see, I wish I could have brought everyone I know out there to enjoy the sights with me, but I still know that there are tons of things that I didn't have the chance to see. For that reason, I'm definitely planning on heading back there sometime soon. Maybe this summer for an internship, or if not, after graduation.

I can't believe how many things I did. I look back at my pictures and it seems like a lifetime ago I was sitting in Tianjin watching the Olympic soccer games. Basketball semi-finals, gymnastics, track and field, beach volleyball and indoor volleyball...that was a once in a lifetime opportunity. Then starting school, meeting all these new people and going on a two week trip to the middle of China. I rode camels in the Gobi Desert, watched the sunrise over sand dunes and travelled to historical parts of China. We saw giant statues of Buddha carved into stone hundreds of years ago. We saw the Terracotta Warriors, we stayed with Mongolians on the grasslands. I rode a horse for my first time and loved it. Then going to Qingdao, Shanghai, Hangzhou, and Suzhou. We went to the International Beer Festival in China, were awed by the skyline in Shanghai and enjoyed the beauty of West Lake in Hangzhou. Suzhou was kind-of like Venice but in the Chinese way. The trip to Guilin was probably the most beautiful place in China. The mountains and river cruises and the water fight with friends were the greatest memories I can take away from that trip. I learned to cook all types of Chinese food and enjoyed eating it too. Going to Hong Kong and Tokyo was the most risky trips of the semester. The two weekends before finals, back to back, missing a class or two...it was all worth it. I never expected to love Tokyo so much and Hong Kong was an interesting and colorful city. And of course there was Beijing. A city of so many people, I got to know as if it was my hometown. 798 Art District, Houhai, Sanlitun, Pearl Market, Silk Market, Yashao Market, Temple of Heaven, Summer Palace, Tiananmen Square, Forbidden City, hutongs, Lama Temple, and all the other sites we saw. There's no other place in the world to experience those things that have so much history and influence in Chinese society.

The one thing that I will miss the most was what we called, "Our Family." Our Family had developed over the past six months to be mostly our group of people that lived in building 5. First there was Jim and I. We had known each other for the past two years mostly through the Chinese classes we took at Fordham. Every Wednesday night taking a ram van down to Chinese class at our Manhattan campus and then sitting through 3 hours of foreign language until 10:30 pm. Going to China was a great time for us to get to know each other outside of the classroom and after living with him, I can really say that he's become one of my really good friends. Next in the family was Collin and John. These two were hysterical. Every morning, I'd walk over to John's room before Chinese class and give him the "2 minute warning" that meant we were leaving for class. Or, sometimes he would come into my room when my alarm didn't go off and yell at me that I was going to miss Chinese! Collin was always telling me that I was too full of myself and had a good ability to keep me down to earth when my head seemed to start blowing up. Being neighbors, Jim, Collin, John and I always had to rely on each other to keep entertained when the Beijing smog was too thick to go outside and play. Like the time we tried to pop popcorn using our cell phones...It doesn't work. (If you don't know what I'm talking about click here!) The last two people that lived on the penthouse of building 5 were Jeff and Ryan. (The Penthouse is the 6th floor that we all lived on. With no elevator, those six flights of stairs gave us all buns of steel, a six pack, and a killer cardio workout!) TBC couldn't have picked out better roommates than Jeff and Ryan. Probably the two most laid back applicants of TBC, we could always count on Jeff and Ryan to be burning incense and watching a bootleg Planet Earth. If you ever needed a break from reality, walk into their room and listen to Ryan practice guitar or wonder where Jeff had mysteriously wandered off too. Jeff was the only one in the family that took Advanced Chinese, and he could put all of us under the table in tones and vocabulary.

If you went down to the 5th floor of our building, Brittany and Devon were always there being the protective mothers of us guys. Always adding that element of stability and reality, the girls were never shy to let us know when we were being ridiculous or when we needed to stop being hooligans. Brittany was always there to offer advice and have a laugh with us. Or to just sit back and watch the entertaining nights when she had papers to write and the rest of us just ignored our school work. Devon was a friend from Fordham who I had known for two years also. She lived on the floor above me freshman year and we had always hung out together having mutual friends and some classes together. I am so glad I had the opportunity to study abroad with her because she is a great person to know and hang out with.

On the 4th floor of building five was Dan and Sean. Sean broke his arm halfway through the semester outside of the Forbidden City. And even though he was crippled for half the semester, it didn't stop him from joining in the shenanigans of building 5 life. Growing up in Los Angeles, Sean has that west coast vibe that I can relate to and I always enjoyed having deep conversations about life just to discover we have an unusually similar ideas and outlooks. He promises one day, he's going to turn me into a brand: Regis®. He has all these ideas which were hysterical and great and I can't wait to visit him in CA. Dan was Sean's roommate who was pretty quiet but when he came out and had fun he was a good guy to have around. He would never add in his two cents, but when he did it was worth more than a dollar. On the 3rd floor was Matt. Matt begin the trip with freshly cut hair and was one of many participants of "No Shave November." Our only friend from the "Great North," Matt's small town Alaskan attitude taught me a lot about sitting back and relaxing. He could always take a joke too far and cross the line, but he was such a good guy that no one seemed to mind. Next to Matt was Devin. Boy-Devin and Girl-Devon were the names we used to distinguish who was who, but Devin...I can't say I've met anyone like him. His nickname was "Long-hair don't care" and he was just a carefree person who was open with himself and wore his feelings on his sleeves. Maybe he offended some or took some time to warm up to, but he was a great friend who was loyal to the end. He was a frequent patron of Jeff and Ryan's penthouse suite to play the guitar with Ryan and sing songs. He was a great performance.

Then there were those people that lived in building 6. I wish I would have gotten to know building 6 people more but I'm glad I got to know Jessica and Lauren. Jess and Lauren only added fuel to the fire that kept building 5 always alive with excitement and entertainment. They were loud and always laughing, which was perfect for our weekend "get-togethers" or mid-week work siestas. We would always meet them for dinner or a night out at Ke Feng's Dumplings. Jess and Lauren were another set of remarkable roommates that I'll definitely miss.

Ling and Femia were the greatest kiddo's in the TBC family. Ling was always getting annoyed, being Chinese, when locals assumed she spoke fluent Chinese. I would love going out to dinner with her because the waitresses would always go to her instead of me to take the order. Both Ling and Femia were tiny, no taller than 5'5" I think, but they added a sense of maturity in the group and added too many memories to count. I'll never forget the first time they went out with us to Houhai and how that night ended up being one of the best nights our family's ever had.

All in all, besides the people, I can probably say I'll miss Ke Feng. I remember the first time I ate at his dumpling place I knew I was going to be eating there a whole lot. Cheap, quick and convenient, his dumplings were out of this world. I remember introducing myself to him and getting to know him when the place wasn't crammed full of people. The place was a little dingy but I was soon to discover that he served more than dumplings. Fried rice, fried noodles, noodle soup, and tons of other stuff, I felt like I was at In-and-Out burger ordering from the secret menu. Ke Feng worked at the dumpling place for 4 years. He was 22 years old, which meant he started when he was 18. He grew up in Hangzhou, the beautiful lake town near Shanghai, and had moved to Beijing a while ago. The dumpling place was only 6 years old, and I think it was started by the man in the back that sometimes helped Ke Feng make dumplings. There was also a woman in the back that did most of the cooking and Qiu Lijian who was the table cleaner. Qiu was one of the most shy people at the dumpling place. The others would always be willing to say a quick "Ni Hao!" but Qiu would just sneak by and smile. Whenever he got embarrassed a huge grin would creep across his face and he would disappear into the back.

I'm also going to miss the bike guy and the drink guy and all of the places I frequented. I built relationships with all of the people, saying Hello, asking them how they're doing and making an effort to say good-bye on my last day in town. I'm going to miss the Chinese friends I made and all of the Chinese people that have influenced me so much. They have such a different lifestyle that their insights and opinions would often make me take a moment to rethink some of the things I had thought. Although China has a lot of progress to be made, it is good to see them changing, slowly but surely. I probably won't miss the smog or the bitter cold or the humid unbearable heat, but I'll miss the familiarity of the roads, Sanlitun, and Houhai. The night of Armin Van Buuren was something I've never done before and I'll never forget that. I've made a lot of memories in China that will always come back to me and I think our whole family realizes that we've had a life changing experience. The best part about my time abroad was now I've made friends across the US. Collin is from Chicago, Sean & Devin from L.A., John & Jim from New York, Jess lives in Florida, Lauren & Dan in Boston, Matt in Alaska, Devon in Philadelphia and Brittany in San Francisco. We're already planning when we can get together and see each other next. With technology these days, I'm lucky that my friendships don't have to end in China, they only just began there.

Final Goodbyes

On a final note, I would like to thank everyone who read my blog. There were some pretty long entries...sometimes I'd forget to write for a week or two and the pictures were...maybe not few but sometimes far between. I hope I gave an accurate description of everything I did and I tried not to be biased or excessive. I've already received many thanks for writing this, but I felt like it was something I had to do. I know most of my family will never be able to go to Asia and this is as close as some of them will ever get to experiencing the things I've done. If I didn't do this, I would feel guilty for having this opportunity and not giving others a chance to share in it too. As I head back to New York for another semester, I probably will have to end my journey here. This blog will always be open to review and re-read, but for now, this chapter has ended and it is time for me to begin another. Thank you very much! I hope you enjoyed My Chinese Adventure.

Forgotten Photos

So now that I'm home and finally have a good internet connection, I've realized I forgot to put up some pictures. The oldest were the pictures from Yangshuo, the night we went to the water show. It's not much but I figure I had better put them online anyway. The second album is from the rice terraces. I can't belive I left that album out! I forgot to post the pictures from Thanksgiving and I also have the pictures from Tokyo to put up too, so here they all are, late but up nonetheless. I'm not quite ready to wrap up my blog yet, so keep checking back for the final post.

Yangshuo

Rice Terrace Fields

Holidays in Beijing

Tokyo

Sayonara Tokyo, Ni Hao China

I just realized I completely forgot to tell everyone what I actually did in Tokyo...so here is the low down. The day we arrived, we flew into Narita, which is about an hour from Tokyo. We took a really expensive cab to the hostel, not reading all the tour books nor taking any advice specifically saying, "Avoid taking cabs from Narita to Tokyo, they are very expensive." When we got to the hostel, some 20,000+ yen later, we unpacked and settled down. It took us longer than we had expected to arrive and our flight was delayed a little bit, so we were lucky enough to have good enough weather to walk around the neighborhood. Our hostel was located in Asakusa, one of the neighborhoods of Tokyo. Right down the block was Sensoji Temple, the largest temple in Tokyo. We looked around there for a while, but everything was closed, so instead we headed into a small restaurant and ate some food. We enjoyed a light snack of miso soup, delicious peanut broth noodles, and other Japanese food.

The next day, we woke up early and were out of the hostel around 9 am. That was one of the smartest things we did, because by noon we had already done tons of stuff. We began by walking through the Sensoji Temple Market, which was right by our hostel. We took a subway to Shinjuku where we went to the Sony building and saw all of the latest technology being created by Sony. It was really cool to check it out and to see what's out there. I'm pretty sure that the coolest thing there was a decent sized flat screen that was 9.9 mm thick. Thats about a 1 cm thick TV that plays crystal clear images without losing the quality of the picture. We walked around the area more and stumbled upon some pretty busy parts of the city. We stopped and ate some deliciously fresh sushi that was taken from the Tsukijishijo fish market. That market, besides being a mouthful to pronounce (no pun), is where the locals go to action off fish. Unfortunately, we never got to make it, but they have hundred kilogram tunas for sale that cost thousands of USD. The restaurants around the area are known for having the freshest sushi in the world. Anyway, our sushi was delicious and we got our first taste of the slurping habits of the Japanese. If you're really enjoying your meal, slurp your noodles up, the louder the better.

After lunch, we headed for Shibuya, the largest pedestrian crosswalk in the world. During the day, the amount of people didn't look that much different than a busy New York day, but when we went back that night, it was a swarm of people. There were so many, it was like being lost in a sea of people, when you looked up, all you saw were the black hair of Japanese for blocks. The Sibuya area has a lot to do, so we walked around and explored things to do. We eventually made it over to Harajuku where we browsed some of the punk rock shops and people watched. The girls in the Shibuya area were well dressed, fashionable and the such, but in Harajuku...they dress like little Bo Peep, gothic, punk rock, and all sorts of craziness. We didn't run into too many people that were really crazy, until we went back to Shibuya. One girl looked like she had cotton candy hair that was half white and half pink. It was pretty cool to see. After Harajuku, we went back to Shibuya, ate at a sushi bar where the track is constantly running and you pull sushi plates off as you wish. I've seen them in the US, but it was fun to eat at one in Japan.

The next day we woke up early once again and walked through the Sensoji Temple Market to buy some things. We headed to the electronics market in Akihabara afterwards and ate a quick meal. Tokyo is also home to the Mega Mac, which is an exclusive, four patty McDonalds burger that we only saw at one McDonalds in Tokyo. In Japan, the McDonalds salt and pepper their burgers. Overall, I think I like Chinese McDonalds better, but Hong Kong had the Big 'n' Tasty, which has been discontinued for years in the US. We didn't eat at the McDonald's for lunch, but John did eat the Mega Mac for dessert (it was delicious). Back to the electronics market, this is 6 floors of every possible electronic device you could ever wish. Toilets in Japan are an experience by itself. In the Sony building, we were first exposed to the Japanese toilet. They plug into the wall, first of all, which should give you a good head start in the direction I'm going. I'm talking about heated seats, high power deodorizers (that turn on or off), temperature adjustments, flush levels and power controls, and of course, a water cleaner and blow dryer. Kind of like a bidet, there are different sprayers that have different water pressures, but the best part was the blow dryer. The whole point of telling you this, was at the electronics market, they sold the same crazy toilets for your personal home. And you can even get one that detects you coming and lifts the lid for you. Most Japanese already have these toilets in their homes, but I think it is something that America seriously needs to take into consideration.

After Akihabara electronics we headed to Roppongi for dinner. We made reservations at a Teppanyaki restaurant and reserved the cook's table. We walked down to the Tokyo tower, which is like the Asian version of the Eiffle tower. I love architecture like that and skyscrapers, so I was pretty bummed when I saw the line to the observation deck winding around and around the lobby. I remembered waiting in line to get to the top of the Eiffle tower, and I knew we wouldn't have time to make it to the top. We took our pictures and headed back to the restaurant. Near our restaurant, there was a free observation deck, but that line was also too long, so we gave up looking for a view of the Tokyo night lights. Tokyo really doesn't have a skyline anyway, so I figure we didn't really miss out on much. The Teppanyaki dinner was delicious. I had a red snapper fillet drizzled in a tomato oil and pesto sauce, with roasted vegetables, miso soup, and a delicious drink. The cook prepared our food in front of us and we toasted to our last night in Tokyo.

After dinner, we walked down to one of my favorite experiences in Tokyo. The Absolut Ice Bar Tokyo. This bar was ridiculous. Chilled to a sub-freezing temperature of 23° F, you are only allowed to stay in for 45 minutes. The bar can only occupy 50 people at a time and later in the night you are only allowed in by reservation. The pricy entrance fee was worth it, plus it included a complementary drink. The glasses weren't really glasses, but actually ice cubes with cylindrical holes cut into them to pour the drink. They are imported from Sweden, where the original Ice Bar was founded. We drank among the ice sculptures and sat on reindeer skins to keep our bottoms from freezing on the ice chairs. There were two groups of Americans already in the bar when we arrived, so it was nice to have contact with the outside world. It really made me excited to head back to the USA.

The next day was an early wake up call. We had planned on going to the fish market, which opens at 5 am and closes at 8 am. We had a 10:30 am flight out of Narita, so we knew we had to hurry to the fish market. While we were planning our trip the the market, Devon stumbled across something that sounded like tons of fun. Every morning, the Japanese sumo wrestlers practice from 6 am until 9 am. Well, if we're getting up for the fish market, we might as well squeeze in the sumo practice too. We were already in Japan, so why not make the most of our last morning? The fish market was closed on Sunday so those plans fell through and we ended up getting to go to watch the sumo wrestlers practice. Big men in little clothing, what more can I say? It was really fun to watch, and I wish I would have known a little more about the technique and rules of sumo wrestling, but I think I got the jist of it.


Heading to the airport was a fiasco. As you can see by the subway map, trying to navigate the Tokyo subways isn't the easiest thing in the world (and you thought New York was confusing). We were constantly buying the wrong train tickets to begin with but with limited time we really didn't know what to do. We caught a local when we should have been on an express and then we transferred to another train and did whatever else we did...but somehow we ended up at the airport 30 minutes before take-off. Well, of course, running through the airport is my favorite thing to do. Just like missing my flight to Hawaii and going to the wrong train station in Paris, I have gotten quite well at missing transportation. Luckily, the Japanese check-in was very helpful and got us booked, through security, and on the flight back within the 30 minutes. We made it back OK and now I'm done with school. My last final was yesterday, I just have to write another paper by Thursday and prepare for my Chinese oral examination on Friday. I started packing my stuff and I said goodbye to the people who cut my hair. I gave Kefeng, the young guy who works at my favorite dumpling place, a Fordham banner that Devon had brought but never gave away. Well, that was a long post but I'll put up pictures sometime before I leave.

A Cultural Revolution

I'm back...well, from Tokyo at least. Devon, Jim, John and I got into Beijing Sunday night after almost missing our flight...I'll get to that later. What can I say? I really, really, really liked Tokyo. I am pretty sure I liked it more than Hong Kong, but then again, Hong Kong was an amazing city with great opportunities. Japanese culture is very different from Chinese culture. In fact, to be honest, I loved the Japanese lifestyle. Let me do a quick compare and contrast from what I've been experiencing here, and what I experienced in Japan. China is a very traditional country. For the most part, they have strictly controlled who comes in and out of their country, who they trade with, where they invest and who they invest in. This has had profound effects on Chinese culture. Because the government regulates so many parts of Chinese life (TV, radio, newspapers, businesses, post offices, health care, electricity, water, trade, transportation, etc.), the Chinese are limited in their exposure and expression of pop culture.

From what I've seen, there are limited TV shows that are broadcasted that aim directly at the Chinese youth. Comparatively, the youth in America are pulled in every direction when watching TV and have the option of watching any type of TV show with various subjects, whether they are considered good or bad, conservative or liberal. Futher, turning on the radio, the music streaming from the speakers ranges from urban hip-hop, R&B, oldies, rock, pop, and so on. The commercials alone, on any station, have enough force to influence American youth. I feel that in China, these influences are by far not as powerful or widespread. Chinese youth, although shifting more towards Western influences, are still considerably more conservative and traditional than American youth. Take for instance my previous blog post about the college life of a Chinese student.

Japan on the other hand, after having six years of allied occupation (I believe occupation began after WWII in 1945 and the allied nations included the US and Britian), was exposed to Western influences far before China. China, in fact, loosened its foreign trade policies in the late 1970s, while Japan was forced to open trade during occupation. Today, Japanese culture has evolved into a Western like culture while still retaining many of its old traditions and ideology. The youth of Japan have uncomparable freedom to choose their lifestyle compared to Chinese youth. They have J-pop, a plethora of Japanese pop artists that, much like the entertainers of Hollywood, influence fashion, music preferences, and other pop culture. Japanese youth are bombarded with name brands. Photos of their favorite celebrities are plastered on billboards and the radio is constantly playing the newest jams. Unlike the Chinese youth, many of which focus on school rather than keeping up to date with pop culture, Japanese youth are listening to music, watching TV, going to the movies, heading out to the clubs, buying the newest iPod, upgrading their cell phones, tracking current events, and making the most of their young years.

I'm not saying that I don't love Chinese culture. It has obviously interested me enough to keep me wanting to come back to see more, speak more, and learn more, but I can't help thinking to myself how much more fun the Japanese have. They have a culture that is as distinct as and is as much a part of their society as American culture. People don't know America until they come to America, just as the Japanese culture needs to be experienced first hand. They are much more than Anime cartoons and sushi, although they do have plenty of both, and they are still as traditional as the Chinese. They wear masks when they are sick, they are very polite and kind, and they bow as a sign of respect. I could go on about all the differences between Japan and China, but my main point is that I wish China could capture their culture, put it in a machine, and make it fresh, fun and accessible, so that the Chinese youth have something to harness and take off with. If China is about to enter into the 21st century, they need to get with the times, and the times call for big screen TVs, blaring music, and self-expression. The Chinese youth are inching towards this notion, little by little (and pushing the envelope of the government at the same time), but those that stand out in music, fashion, and ideology, are still few and far between. I'm sure within the next 10 years, China's pop culture will have sprouted, and with it will be a wide variety of options for the youth to take on.

The Fragrant Harbor of Hong Kong

There has been a lot going on over here on this side of the world. The final countdown has begun. I believe I have about 11 days left and I can already smell the Christmas dinner. Hong Kong was amazing. Our hostel was right downtown. Hong Kong is like New York, divided into neighborhoods, each with their own distinct vibe and feel. Causeway Bay, where our hostel was located, has the Times Square, bright lights, throngs of people, bright lights, restaurants and shopping. Although not one of the main bar streets, the night life in our area is still around. We began our first day in a small with with two double beds. Apparently, even though Hong Kong is a Special Administrative Region ruled by the British for 99 years, the Chinese stuff still leaks through at times. Our room had been booked, but they promised a new room for the last three nights. Jim, John, and I walked around the city exploring what it had to offer. Victoria Park was not too far away and the streets were crowded with foreigners. There were families and business people, Indians and Chinese, Americans and Europeans. We all nearly got killed corssing the streets (remember 99 years of British rule), but we managad to survive after a few brushes with double decker buses. A walk along the waterfront aveneue took us by the car dealerships: Ferrari, Mazerati, Lambourgini, Lotus, Lexus, BMW, Aston Martin, Mercedes, and the rest. The wealth here is incredible. It's amazing what 99 years of Western influence can do to China. Hong Kong has no hacking, no spitting, no haze, and get this: no squatters! Walking down the roads, we felt like we were once again flung into a futuristic city. Some of the intersections downtown were raised roads with flyover exits and lightrail trains running down the center. The cars whizzed around us as the people weaved through the sidewalks. It was like being in a blender of Chinese and Western cultures, literally.

We went out to Wan Chai the first night and although expensive, we had a good time out. It was really night to see Christmas lights and the fact that everyone spoke English was a real convenience. In Hong Kong, the local Chinese speak Cantonese, not Mandarin, which means that even if I wanted to speak Chinese, I probably couldn't get around on my own. I couldn't even read the characters because they used traditional and not simplified characters.

The second day we got up, ate, moved rooms and headed to Victoria Peak. As an island, Hong Kong is built a lot like Honolulu, Hawaii. There isn't much room, and the mountains give little level ground to build on. The only solution to this is to build up. One of the best ways to view the city skyscrapers is to go to the top of Victoria's Peak, directly behind Central (the district). The tram takes you up and up and the scene was beautiful. Victoria Harbor (everything is Victoria, it's British), which separates Hong Kong island from Kowloon (on the mainland China, but still part of the Hong Kong territory). The water was beautiful, the weather was great and all was good. After the peak, we went down to the Mid-Levels to see the residential area. The Mid-Levels are comparible to the Upper "Sides" of Manhattan. The richest of the rich live here in Hong Kong. We rode the Mid-Level Central Escalators, which are the longest series of outdoor escalators in the world. Along the way, we saw some great places to live and a fantastic neighborhood to eat, drink, and relax.

We walked around Central for a bit before going back home to change for the night. We ate a decent dinner and went out to Lan Kuai Fong bar street. This district was great. Besides the fact that I felt young amid the late 20s/early 30s crowd; and felt a bit plain without a jacket (many of the patrons had probably headed out for some after work cocktails and were dressed in business clothes); I enjoyed myself throughly.

The next day, we headed across the Harbor to Kowloon to explore what the other side had to offer. This was the first time I saw a line outside of Gucci and there were more high-end stores than 7-11s (and Hong Kong has 7-11s like Manhattan has Starbucks). We ate a quick lunch and hopped on a river tour. The river tour took us around the Harbor. I was amazed by the skyline. Just like most of Asia, 10 years ago this skyline barely existed. When the boat returned, we went out for a nice dinner before heading to the waterfront to watch the nightly light show. The light show was one of my favorite things about Hong Kong. Unique to Hong Kong, this is the longest running permanent light show in the world. Laser beams, spotlights, and some 60 skyscrapers involved, the light show was mesmerizing and impressive. We headed back to Lan Kuai Fong to top the night off and call it a great day.

The final day was a day that we all got separated. Jim and John went to Macau to gamble, but John forgot his passport in the room. By the time he came to the room, I had already left to see the giant sitting buddha on a nearby island. John ended up spending the day exploring more of the city, Jim won $300 USD gambling in Macau, and I enjoyed the bronze Buddha. All the activities took all day, but we all had a great time none-the-less.

To top the night off, we went out to a fantastic Mexican restaurant. It was pretty much a fiesta in my stomach because not only have I not seen Mexican food since I came to China, but this was actually decently good Mexican too! We walked around Wan Chai after dinner and spent out last night at a low key bar nearby.

Upon returning to Beijing, we were greeted with the Siberian winds from the Arctic and a haze so bad you couldn't see across the street. Typical Beijing. Other than that, my head is exploding with all the homework I have to do. I leave once again on Thursday for Tokyo, and I'll still be counting down the days until Grandma's home cooking. I can't wait to show everyone the cool things I've picked up along my travels. Remember those days when I was blogging about the Olympics? Seems like another lifetime ago! Anyway, here are the pictures. See you soon.

Hong Kong by John

Hong Kong by Regis

Xiang Gang

I'm leaving for Hong Kong in a few hours, which means that my travels have come way to quickly. This past weekend was a blur. Trying to fit too many things in too short of time. There is so much to do in Beijing before I leave and I can now count the days in this city on both my hands! I will take many pictures, and probably won't post them until I'm back to fast internet and fast food, but at least I'll try and give you a brief description of my adventures. It will probably be sometime between my art history research paper, my marketing presentation, my Chinese tests (two the Monday I get back), or my finance homework. Have a great week, I sure will.